fe 




Book ■JffT 



Issued July 12, 1912. 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 251. 

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau. 



THE PECAN. 



BY 



C. A. REED, 

Special Agent in Nut-Culture Investigations, Office of 
Field Investigations in Pomology. 




WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1912. 



tlonogra^b 



Issued July 12, 1912. 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 251. 

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau. 



THE PECAN. 



BY 



C. A. REED, 



Special Agent in Nut-Culture Investigations, Office of 
Field Investigations in Pomology. 




WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1312. 






I "■ 






BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



Chief of Bureau, Beverly T. Galloway. 
issistant Chief of Bureau, William A. Taylor 
Editor, J E. Rockwell. 
Chief Clerk, James E. Jones. 



Field Investigations in Pomology. 

scientific staff. 

A. V. Stubenrauch, Expert in Cliarge. 

<;. C. Husmann and II. P. Gould, Pomologists. 

A. D. Sbamel, Physiologist. 

S. J. Dennis, II. J. Ramsey, C. S. Pomerny, A. W. McKay, Richard Schmidt, Gilbert Bi3 

Crawford, jr., and C. G. Patten, Experts. 
W. I'. Fletcher, B. B. Pratt, Charles Dearing, C. W. Mann. K. B. Lewis, George M. 1 

Darrow, L. B. Scott, and George \Y. Dewey, Scientific Assistants. 
C. A. Reed, Special igent. 
F. L. Husmann, Viticultural Superintendent. 

251 









LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

Bureau of Plant Industry. 

Office of the Chief, 
Washington, D. C ., March 20, 1912. 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled "The 
Pecan," by Mr. C. A. Reed, Special Agent in Nut-Culture Investi- 
gations, prepared under the direction of Mr. A. V. Stubenrauch, 
Expert in Charge of Field Investigations in Pomology. 

I recommend that this paper be published as Bulletin No. 251 of 
the Bureau series. 

Respectfully, B. T. Galloway, 

Chief of Bureau. 
Hon. James Wilson, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

251 o 



CONTENTS 



Page. 

Introduction 7 

Botanical classification of the pecan 9 

Natural distribution 9 

Habit of growth n 

Flowering habit 12 

Decrease in number of native trees 13 

Cultural distribution 13 

Extent of planting 14 

Economic importance 15 

Culture lg 

Preservation of nut-bearing forests 16 

Soil and moisture requirements 17 

History of propagation and planting 17 

Propagation lg 

Selecting seed for planting lg 

Stratifying pecan seed 19 

Planting pecan seed 19 

Comparison of seedling and grafted trees 20 

Cleft grafting 21 

Formulas for grafting wax 23 

Preparation of grafting cloth 23 

Care of cleft grafts 24 

Whip grafting 24 

Care of whip grafts 25 

Budding by the annular method 25 

Budding by the patch method 27 

Care of annular and patch buds 29 

Budding by the chip method 3 

Stocks for grafting and budding 31 

Length of time trees should remain in the nursery 31 

Top-working 01 

Stocks for top-working 31 

How to top-work 32 

Top-working hickory with pecan 33 

Planting 00 

Trees for planting og 

Setting the trees 40 

Cultivation 4 ~ 

Bearing age !! 41 

Nut handling. . ., 

~, ? 41 

Harvesting ,, 

Marketing 42 

Cleaning, polishing, and tinting 43 

Cracking ,,, 

Sizing """ u 

251 

5 



6 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

Varieties 44 

Origin of varieties 44 

Selection of varieties 45 

Papershell pecans 4(j 

Description of varieties 46 

Index 53 



ILLUSTRATIONS, 



Page. 

Fig. 1 . Outline map of the United States, showing the range of the pecan 9 

2. A large pecan tree in Ascension Parish, La 10 

3. A native forest cleared of timber other than pecan 11 

4. Characteristic pecan trees of Texas 12 

5. Pecan foliage and flowers L3 

6. A pecan forest near San Antonio, Tex., in process of transformation into 

a grove 16 

7. A tool specially designed for cleft grafting 21 

8. Mallet for use in cleft grafting 21 

9. Cleft grafting. Successive steps in the operation 22 

10. Whip grafting. Early steps in the operation 25 

11. Whip grafting. Later steps in the operation 26 

12. A metal tool specially designed for use in annular budding 27 

13. A tool with wooden handles and steel blades specially designed for use 

in annular budding 27 

14. Another type of metal tool specially designed for use in annular budding . 27 

15. Annular budding 28 

16. A metal tool specially designed for use in patch budding 29 

17. Chip or "dormant" budding 30 

18. Seedling tree cut back during the dormant season 33 

19. Seedling tree cut back to a stump 15 inches in diameter, for top-working . 34 

20. A 7-year-old pecan tree top- worked with Stuart scions 35 

21. Pecan tree in Morgan City, La., top-worked when about 25 years old 36 

22. Pecan tree grown from a graft on a hickory stock 37 

23. Nursery-grown pecan trees, showing the standard grades 39 

24. Wagons loaded with native pecans in Texas awaiting the arrival of 

buyers 42 

25. A pecan crackery 43 

251 



B. P. I.— 736. 



THE PECAN. 



* INTRODUCTION. 



The pecan is one of the most important of the nut-bearing trees 
now grown in the United States, and within the area thought to be 
adapted to its culture no other agricultural or horticultural product 
which has appeared during recent years is attracting greater attention 
or being so widely exploited. It was not found by the early botan- 
ists nearer the Atlantic coast than western Alabama in the South and 
central Tennessee and Kentucky in the North, but with the progress 
of agriculture in the South the species has been carried eastward 
and widely distributed with apparent success over the eastern Gulf 
and South Atlantic States. It has also been sparingly introduced 
into many of the Northern States, including Ohio, Michigan, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and to a 
slight extent into the lower New England States. In the West it 
has received but little attention. A few planted trees may be found 
here and there from Washington to southern California, but pecan 
growing has not become an important industry west of the Rocky 
Mountains. 

The evident age of not uncommon large trees near the Gulf coast 
indicates that the planting of pecans in the Southern States east and 
south of the area of the natural range of the species has been in prog- 
ress for more than a century. The planting of orchards in those 
States began with seedling trees about 20 years after the Civil War. 
During the early nineties grafted and budded trees of named varieties 
appeared in sufficient numbers so that a few orchards of such trees 
were then planted, but comparatively few orchards of either seedling 
or grafted trees were planted previous to 1900. Since that time, 
especially during the past five years, the planting of pecan orchards 
in the Southern States has been taking place at a rapidly accelerating 
rate. In southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, central and south- 
ern Georgia, and northern Florida, large tracts of land, frequently 
several hundred acres in extent, are being planted to pecan trees and 
later sold to outside investors. For several years the demand for 
nursery-grown trees has been far beyond the supply, leading nursery- 
37184°— Bui. 251—12 2 7 



8 THE PECAN. 

men booking' orders for their entire output from six to eight months 
before the planting season. Most unusual interest is being manifested 
in pecan culture, and investments, which are large for an industry 
that is still in its infancy, are being made in spite of the fact that very 
few pecan orchards are as yet of sufficient age to have been in bearing 
long enough to furnish reliable data upon which to make safe estimates 
as to the probable yields of a given variety at any stated age in par- 
ticular localities. Observations, accurate in themselves, on the bearing 
records of single trees here and there are frequently taken as the basis 
for estimates as to the probable yield of. an entire orchard of the 
same variety or varieties, but as it usually develops that the trees 
making these records have grown under conditions of exceptionally 
favorable environment, the fallacy of such calculations is at once 
apparent. To be at all trustworthy, estimates as to future yields 
must be based on the average records of a great number of trees under 
normal conditions rather than of single trees which are conspicuous 
because of their abnormal production. 

An erroneous impression to the effect that the pecan has no serious 
enemies in the way of insect pests or fungous diseases and that it is 
not affected by drought, freezing temperatures, or high winds has 
become prevalent among a considerable portion of prospective com- 
mercial and amateur planters. No agricultural product is without 
its natural enemies and other obstacles that must be overcome. "When 
any plant is brought under cultivation and large contiguous areas 
are planted, the opportunities for the development and spread of the 
insects and diseases attacking it are greatly increased. The pecan is 
no exception to this rule, and in due time many serious enemies to it 
must be expected to appear. Among the insects that have already ap- 
peared are those which attack the fruit buds in earty spring; girdlers 
which cut off the twigs during the latter part of the growing season, 
frequently causing branches with clusters of nuts to fall to the 
ground; webworms which defoliate the trees; shuckworms which 
destroy the nut by burrowing out the soft hull while immature: 
weevils which work in the nut itself; and borers which penetrate the 
body and main branches of the tree; besides a number of others less 
well known. A Jarge number of fungous diseases also attack the 
pecan. The most important of these diseases is the pecan scab, which 
attacks the foliage, stems, and hulls of the young nuts of mature 
trees and which is sometimes very serious on late, rapidly growing 
trees of certain varieties in the nursery. 

Investigations of the control of insects and fungous diseases at- 
tacking the pecan are receiving the attention of other investigators; 
a detailed discussion of these problems is therefore beyond the scope 
of this bulletin, which is designed to give such general information 

251 



NATURAL DISTRIBUTION. 



9 



concerning the various phases of the pecan and its culture as is avail- 
able at the present time. 1 

Long-continued rains at the blossoming time which interfere with 
pollination, late spring frosts which kill the buds or destroy the 
young nutlets, sudden drops of temperature in winter during which 
immature late growth may be severely frozen back, subtropical 
storms of such intensity as to blow the nuts off and sometimes to 
uproot grown trees, and droughts during the late summer months 
just as the nuts are maturing are inevitable obstacles which must be 
taken into consideration. 



BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE PECAN. 

The pecan is an American species of nut-bearing tree belonging to 
the botanical family Juglandacea?, which includes also the hickories, 
the walnuts, and the butternut. It has been variously known as 
Jvglans pecan, Carya olivaefonnis, and by other less common terms. 
The botanical name now commonly accepted is Ilicoria pecan. 




>y\ A#£A OT SCATTfffCD PLAVTWS. 

"^1 jtar* TV WHICH 7HT P£CM IS HAT/V? 
t' ■ :; ■■ ' ■ > */?£* ll*l ADDITION TV ITJ WITltfT H. 
L-^'J TUfr PCCAH HAS 8£~£IV SLICCFSSrvi. 

Wk a&ca of most fxrtHsirr fLAI/riMS, 



Fig. 1. — Outline map of the United States?, showing the range of the pecan exclusive of 
occasional plantings in the Western States and scattered trees throughout the West 
and North. 

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION. 

The pecan is wholly an American species found only in certain 
parts of the United States and Mexico. Figure 1 is an outline map 
of the United States showing areas within which the pecan occurs 
at the present time. From this map it will be seen that with the 

1 All inquiries addressed to this Department relating to the matter of insect pests should 
be directed to the Chief of the Bureau of Entomology, and those regarding diseases to the 
Pathologist in Charge of Fruit-Disease Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry. 
251 



10 



THE PECAN. 



exception of a small area J in central Alabama, west of Montgomery, 
the eastern boundary of the pecan habitat is marked by an irregular 
line drawn southward across central Kentucky to central Tennessee; 




Fig 2— A large pecan tree in Ascension Parish, La., having an estimated height of 130 
feet, a spread of 125 feet, and measuring 18 feet 3 inches in circumference at breast 

height. 

thence south and west to near central northern Mississippi, and 
southwest to central southern Louisiana; from this point the line 



251 



1 Mohr, M. C, Garden and Forest, vol. 6, p. 373, 



HABIT OF GROWTH. 



11 



parallels the border of the Gulf of Mexico to southern Texas with- 
out reaching the coast. In a line nearly parallel to that of the eastern 
border, the western boundary extends from southwestern Iowa across 
eastern Kansas, western Oklahoma, and western Texas to the Rio 

Grande. 

HABIT OF GROWTH. 

In habit of growth the pecan varies greatly, according to environ- 
ment and locality. Under the most favorable conditions it develops 
a massive spreading top in the open, while in thickly crowded forests 
it attains great height. In the alluvial lands of the Mississippi 
River bottoms specimen trees ranging from 4 to 6 feet in diameter 




Fig. 3. 



-A native forest cleared of timber other than pecan on the Kentucky side of the 
Ohio River, 10 miles from Evansville, Ind. 



and from 150 to 170 feet in height are not uncommon. Figure 2 
shows a pecan tree in Ascension Parish, La., photographed in 1909, 
having an estimated height of 130 feet, a spread of 125 feet, and 
measuring 18 feet 3 inches in circumference at breast height. A view 
of a native forest cleared of all timber other than pecan, situated on 
the Kentucky side of the Ohio River not far from Evansville, Ind., 
is shown in figure 3. Pecan trees having diameters of 2 to 1 feet 
and heights of 75 to 100 feet are not uncommon in this forest. 

In the semiarid sections of Texas the growth is different from 
that of humid regions; the trees do not attain such great size, their 

251 



12 



THE PECAN. 



bodies are shorter, the limbs more irregular, and the terminal 
branches much more willowy. An illustration of the characteristic 
growth in that section is shown in figure 1, reproduced from a photo- 
graph taken in Landa Park, New Braunfels, Comal Co., Tex. 1 

FLOWERING HABIT. 

The pecan tree has alternate pinnate leaves, with from 11 to 17 
leaflets each; the flowers are monoecious, i. e., the staminate and 
pistillate blossoms are borne separately upon the same tree. The 
staminate blossoms appear in clusters of catkins upon the last sea- 
son's growth somewhat in advance of the pistillate blossoms, which 




Fig. 4 . — Characteristic pecan trees of Texas. Photographed in Landa Park, New Braun- 
fels, Tex., 1910. 

are found only at the terminals of the new branches. A cluster of 
pecan foliage illustrated in figure 5 2 shows the arrangement of 
floral organs. The catkins are to be seen as pendulous clusters sus- 
pended from the growth of the past season. The pistillate flowers 
are somewhat obscurely shown at the point of termination of the 
new growth. A section of a catkin is shown at a and of a pistillate 
flower at A, both greatly enlarged. 

1 These trees are draped with "Spanish moss" (Dendropo<jvn usneoides), a pendulous, 
beardlike air plant of gray color which attaches itself to the branches of many species 
of trees in the South. This moss is not a true parasite, as it obtains no food from its 
host ; but if neglected after it has established itself on pecan trees it is liable to become 
a serious pest, as it covers the branches to such an extent as effectively to smother the 
liea ring area. 

-The drawing was made very early in the growing season, before the normal number 
of leaflets had appeared. The staminate bloom is in somewhat greater profusion than 
the average for the variety shown, which is the Van Peman. 
251 



CULTURAL DISTRIBUTION. 



13 



DECREASE IN NUMBER OF NATIVE TREES. 

The normal clearing of forests in any community during its agri- 
cultural development, the increased use of pecan timber for hard- 
wood manufacturing purposes, and the extravagant habits of cutting 
out the tops at harvest time and of chopping down the trees alto- 
gether in order more easily to obtain the nuts, practices which pre- 
vail in many sections, have combined seriously to reduce the number 
of pecan trees in the native forests. The first two causes can hardly 




Fig. 5. — Pecan foliage and flowers, a, Section of a catkin (staminate flower cluster) ; 

b, pistillate flower. 

be prevented, and it is doubtful whether the latter practices can be 
checked until the finest specimens have entirely disappeared. 

CULTURAL DISTRIBUTION. 



East of the Mississippi River and its northern tributaries the pecan 
has been introduced into a majority of those States to which it is not 
native, but it is only within certain localities that the species has 
thus far indicated its probable commercial adaptability. With the 



251 



14 



THE PECAN. 



exception of the native trees occurring in western Kentucky, southern 
Indiana, southern Illinois, southeastern Iowa, and eastern Missouri, 
pecan trees are not found in considerable numbers north of the lati- 
tude of lower Virginia. It does not adapt itself to mountainous sec- 
tions or to lowlands in which standing water is found on or near the 
surface for protracted periods. Few plantings have been made below 
central Florida or in mountainous areas, but with these exceptions 
representatives of the species are not uncommon over any large area 
in the southeastern quarter of the United States. Certain localities 
are undoubtedly better adapted to pecan culture than others, but in 
the present infancy of the pecan industry it is too early to name the 
most favorable sections. Orchards already planted are mostly found 
within a few comparatively small areas, a fact which is without doubt 
largely due to the common tendency of a community to follow a 
leader, which in this instance has been in the matter of planting pecan 
trees, rather than to established proof of special adaptability of 
the particular locality. The areas of most extensive plantings are 
indicated by the gradations in shading shown on the outline map 

(% 1). 

EXTENT OF PLANTING. 

During the winter of 1908 an inquiry was made by the Bureau of 
Plant Industry regarding the pecan orchards then in existence. Re- 
plies were received covering about 600 orchards situated in various 
portions of the South. These reports show a total of nearly 300,000 
trees then under cultivation. More than two-thirds of these trees, 
viz, 209,069, were of named varieties (including both nursery-grown 
and top-worked trees), 39,839 were seedlings of known parentage, and 
45,086 were from seed of unknown origin. 

Of the named varieties, 175,126, or nearly seven-eighths of the total 
number reported, were located in 10 States, as shown in Table I. 

Table I. — Distribution of plantings of named varieties of pecan trees in different. 

States. 



State. 


Number. 


State. 


Number. 


State. 


Number. 




48,475 
32,990 
27,507 
25,449 




20, 694 

12,894 

2,957 

2,286 


North Carolina 


966 






908 




South Carolina 


Total 






175, 126 











While these figures do not cover the whole area then devoted to 
pecan culture, they probably indicate the proportional planting in 
each State. 

It has been recently estimated * that approximately 1,400,000 trees 
have been sold from the nurseries during the past five years, or 

1 Letters from leading nurserymen received during February and March, 1911. 
251 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE. 15 

from the season of 1906-7 up to and including that of 1910-11. 
These sales appear to have been distributed among the principal 
pecan-growing States in much the same proportion indicated by 
the figures in Table I. 

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE. 

The figures of pecan production of the census for 1910 have not 
yet been published, but from estimates 1 made by a number of the 
leading wholesalers of pecans the annual crop in the State of Texas 
alone during the past five years has ranged from 135 to 660 car- 
loads, or from 3,645,000 to 17,820,000 pounds. 2 The prices to the 
producer have ranged from 4 to 16 cents per pound. During the 
past five years the average midseason price has been from 7 to 9 
cents a pound. Estimates derived from the same source indicate 
that, beginning with Louisiana, next to Texas in quantity of pro- 
duction, and ending with Indiana and Illinois, each producing about 
10 cars, the remainder of the average crop is apportioned among the 
other pecan-producing States in about the following order: Louisi- 
ana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
Mississippi, Indiana, and Illinois. 

Commercially speaking, orchard-grown pecans have not yet been 
produced in sufficient quantities to affect the general market to an 
appreciable degree. The demand for pecans of the named varieties 
created by nurserymen for use as samples, or by fancy confectioners, 
tourists, and occasionally by seedsmen has caused a very wide range 
in prices, which can not be expected to reach a normal basis until the 
cultivated pecans reach the general markets in sufficient quantity to 
compete fairly with wild nuts. 

Among the nuts exported from this country the pecan is of rela- 
tively small importance and is not separately listed in the Govern- 
ment reports. According to the annual reports of the Department 
of Commerce and Labor, the importations of pecans from Mexico, 
first separately listed in 1908, are shown in Table II. 

Table II. — Importations of pecans from Mexico into the United States for the 

fiscal years 190S to 1911, inclusive.^ 



Fiscal years, ended June. 30. 



1908. 
1909. 
1910. 
1911. 



Quantity. 



Pounds. 
1,118,071 
1,4S0,2S9 
3,349,460 
2, 333, 087 



Value. 



SS2. 181 
106, 298 
232,590 
158,312 



1 Letters received during the month of February, 1911. 

2 A carload of pecans weighs from 24,000 to 35,000 pounds. 

3 A duty of 1 cent a pound has been levied upon all pecans thus far imported. 

37184°— Bui. 251—12 3 



16 



THE PECAN. 
CULTURE. 



PRESERVATION OF NUT-BEARING FORESTS. 

The value of pecan -producing forests is coming to be recognized 
to such an extent that at the present time certain enterprising own- 
ers are not only taking steps to prevent their further destruction but 
are increasing their productiveness by a careful and systematic elimi- 
nation of all unprofitable trees, so as to give greater advantage to 
such as produce superior nuts. 




Fig. 6. — A pecan forest near San Antonio, Tex., in process of transformation into a grove 
by the elimination of all trees other than the most desirable pecans. Note the distances 
between trees. 

This work is well worthy of encouragement. As clearing too sud- 
denly will expose the remaining trees to injury by high winds, the 
thinning-out process should be brought about gradually. The least 
desirable pecan trees should be marked during the harvest period 
and subsequently removed. In clearing such tracts the owner should 
keep in mind the best methods of converting the forest into an 
orchard. Trees which produce the best nuts in the greatest quantity 
should be the ones allowed to remain. As far as possible the low- 
headed trees should be given preference. Pruning, having in mind 
the cutting back of long, spindling branches and the removal of 

251 



CULTURE. 17 

broken tops, will have a decidedly beneficial effect. As the new tops 
begin to take definite form in later years, further improvement by 
elimination should continue. The owner must decide for himself 
regarding the advisability of top-working any or all trees. 

When two trees of equal merit (so far as quality of nuts, regu- 
larity of bearing, health, and apparent condition of the trees are con- 
cerned) crowd each other, preference should be given the one which 
releases its nuts from the hulls with the greater readiness. If one 
is more subject to fungous diseases or to ravages of insect pests than 
the other, it should be removed. Vacant spaces in the wood lot 
should be filled in by planting nuts from the best trees or, better still, 
by transplanting. Any attention to cultivation, irrigation if neces- 
sary, or the application of compost should result in an increased pro- 
duction of nuts. A pecan forest near San Antonio, Tex., treated in 
the manner just described, illustrating what can be done, is shown in 
figure G. 

SOIL AND MOISTURE REQUIREMENTS. 

In its early history the pecan was thought to be severely exacting 
in its requirements of soil and moisture conditions and in the essen- 
tials for successful propagation. Since becoming better known, 
however, it has been found that while certain conditions may be 
most conducive to good results, the pecan adapts itself to varying 
environment to such an extent that it has been planted with appar- 
ent success in a great variety of soils in the Southern States. Ideals 
are constantly changing as experience is gained, but in the light of 
present knowledge a deep, fertile soil, sufficiently porous to admit of 
free root growth, well drained yet by no means dry, is considered as 
being best adapted to pecan culture. Localities in which the water 
table below the surface is within reach of the taproot seem to be 
preferred by the pecan. This fact is of such common belief with 
the well drivers of the semiarid portion of Texas that they seek 
proximity to pecan trees when boring for water. It is essential that 
the trees should not be allowed to remain in standing water for any 
great length of time, although an occasional overflow to a depth of 
several feet apparently does no harm. 

HISTORY OF PROPAGATION AND PLANTING. 

Less attention has been paid to planting the pecan in orchard 
form in regions where it abounds as a forest tree than in many of 
the neighboring localities of nearly similar soil and climatic condi- 
tions. It seems to have been understood by certain pecan-growing 
pioneers previous to 1850 that the species did not come true from 
seed, but that information was not general until a half century later. 

251 



18 THE PECAN". 

Practically all pecan orchards planted were of seedling; trees. His- 
tory x records that in 1846 or 1847 a slave gardener, Antoine by 
name, instructed by his owner, Telesphore J. Roman, succeeded in 
grafting 16 trees of the variety which later came to be known as 
Centennial. Subsequently 110 trees were similarly propagated by 
the same individual, bringing the total number known to have been 
grafted before the close of the Civil War (1865) to 126. 

There is little evidence of further propagation by this method 
until 1877, 2 when Emil Bourgeois, of Union, La., successfully grafted 
11 scions of the variety now well known as Van Deman, but then 
called the " Duminie " or " Duminie Mire," in honor of its owner. 
The Frotscher and Rome varieties were propagated by Richard 
Frotscher, of New Orleans, in 1882, as was the Stuart by the late 
A. G. Delmas, of Pascagoula (formerly Scranton), Miss., in 1886. 
Aside from these records there is little in pecan history to indicate 
that much was accomplished in the way of propagating the species 
other than by planting the seed until the early nineties, when 
grafting of named varieties came to be a matter of common prac- 
tice with certain growers in southern Mississippi, Louisiana, and 
Texas. The limited number of superior parent trees from which to 
obtain grafting wood, the small degree of success then obtained with 
that method of propagation, the consequent high prices of nursery 
trees, together with the ignorance and doubt in the public mind 
regarding the certainty of grafted trees, resulted in the continued 
planting of nongrafted trees for the next decade. During the years 
1000 to 1005 the fact of the very great dissatisfaction so certain to 
result from the planting of seedling trees came to be well known, 
and since then few trees of nongrafted stock have been planted. 

PROPAGATION. 

SELECTING SEED FOR PLANTING. 

Until comparatively recent years very little attention has been 
paid to the selection of seed for nursery planting other than to 
obtain cheap nuts of high germinating quality. No thought has 
been given at the time of selecting the seed to the subsequent growth 
of the trees, and as a result there has been a conspicuous lack of 
uniformity in the rapidity of growth both in the nursery and in the 
orchard. While no one has compared the later behavior of trees which 
grew slowly in the nursery, when transferred from the nursery to the 
orchard, with the behavior of those which grew more rapidly as seed- 
lings, it is logical to suppose that the degree of vigor is proportionately 

1 Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, for 1904, p. 407. 
- Yearbook, II. S. Dept. of Agriculture, for 1904, p. 415. 

251 



PROPAGATION. 19 

the same. It is generally conceded by nurserymen in north Florida 
and in south Georgia, where by far the greater portion of all nursery 
pecan trees are grown, and by certain nurserymen in Louisiana who 
are known to have made the comparison, that pecan seed from 
Louisiana germinates more slowly and makes slower growth than 
does seed from the East. For this reason Florida and Georgia seed 
is commonly used by southern nurserymen. 

Recent experience in north Florida and south Georgia in the 
South and in lower Virginia farther north has convinced the nursery- 
men in those localities that southern seedlings are undesirable as 
stocks for northern scions, and vice versa, in that, owing to the dif- 
ference in time of starting in the spring and maturing in the fall, 
neither of the two makes a satisfactoiy growth when grafted or 
budded on the other. 

Experience shows that for seed purposes plump nuts of medium 
size should be selected from vigorous-growing and productive trees 
as nearly free from disease as it is possible to obtain. As already 
indicated, it is also evident that seed from north Florida and south 
Georgia is preferable for use in the Gulf Coast States from Florida 
to Louisiana and that in the selection of seed for any locality the 
influence of latitude should be kept in mind. 

STRATIFYING PECAN SEED. 

Pecan nuts to be planted as seed should be retained in as nearly 
as possible their original condition at the time of harvest. If 
allowed to become dry they should be thoroughly soaked before 
planting. If the nuts are to be held for a period of several weeks 
or during the fall and winter for spring planting they should be 
stratified as soon as practicable after harvesting. " Stratification " 
is the technical term for the method of packing the nuts in moist 
sand and keeping in a cool, dark place to prevent evaporation or 
germination by combined warmth and moisture. To protect the nuts 
from rodents, the box or boxes in which the nuts are kept should 
be covered with wire screen. Proper drainage must be assured. 

PLANTING PECAN SEED. 

The planting of pecan seed may be performed soon after harvest 
or early in the spring. Fall planting does away with the need of 
stratifying, but encounters the risk of loss by winter injury and 
depredations of field mice and other rodents. 

Germination is earlier and growth quicker in sandy soils than in 
heavy soils. Proper drainage is also more easily assured in sandy 
soils, and for these reasons light soils are ordinarih 7 preferred for 
nursery purposes. Irrespective of its nature, the land should be 

251 



20 THE PECAN. 

thoroughly prepared before the seed is planted. The soil should be 
fertile, well cultivated, and yet (inn. Plant the nuts 2 to :\ inches 
deep and 8 to 12 inches apart in rows 1 to 6 feet apart; cover with 
loose, fertile soil, and pack firmly. A top-dressing of leaf mold or 
other light compost 1 or 2 inches deep will aid greatly in keeping the 
surface mellow and moist. 

During the first season the growth will he largely confined to the 
development of a taproot, which will be from '-\ to .'» times the length 
of the top. In ordinary seasons the growth above ground will be 
from 6 to 12 inches. 

A method occasionally followed is to plant half a dozen nuts in the 
permanent location where the tree is to stand. Later the best one 
of the resulting trees is grafted with the desired variety, and the 
others are cut away. This method avoids the labor and expense of 
transplanting. In actual practice, however, this method has thus 
far rarely proved satisfactory. On the contrary, the claim is made 
by several of the more experienced growers that transplanting pecan 
trees results in more compact and fibrous .root systems and is there- 
fore a positive advantage. Unless protected by heavy stakes, the 
young trees under these conditions are subject to injury by careless 
workmen. Moreover, it frequently happens that none of the nuts 
planted produces a tree fit for grafting. It is therefore doubtful 
whether this method of establishing an orchard can be commended. 

COMPARISON OF SEEDLING AND GRAFTED TREES. 

As has been previously explained, no matter how carefully the 
seed may be selected, pecans grown from the nuts do not reproduce 
themselves true to the parent type. Of all the trees observed in 
past experience with the pecan not a single authentic instance is on 
record in which a tree grown from the nut has been identical with 
its parent or any of its sister seedlings. Whenever it is desired to 
perpetuate definite varietal characteristics of the pecan it must be 
done by asexual methods of propagation, i. e., by grafting or bud- 
ding. In contradiction to this, certain tree dealers have recently 
advanced the claim that grafted and budded trees are proving 
unsatisfactory, asserting that they are shorter lived and more sub- 
ject to disease than seedlings; that they are otherwise objectionable 
and are consequently being discarded. Evidence to support the 
claim that the operation of either grafting or budding, when suc- 
cessfully performed, has any effect whatever upon the longevity of 
the tree or its susceptibility to disease is entirely lacking. Healthy 
grafted and budded trees of all ages up to 30 years since the opera- 
tion was performed are sufficiently common throughout the pecan 
area entirely to dispel all doubt as to the enduring qualities of trees 

251 



PROPAGATION. 



21 




Pig. 



-A tool especially designed for cleft grafting. 



so propagated. Statements to the opposite effect are made evidently 
for the sole purpose of selling inferior seedling trees. 

As ordinarily only such sorts as are especially productive or other- 
wise superior to the average are commonly perpetuated by asexual 
propagation, a. belief has become more or less prevalent that in some 
way the operation in 
itself is responsible 
for the productive- 
ness. This is a mis- 
taken view, as the 
scions 1 and buds only 
jierpetuate such char- 
acteristics- as they in- 
herit from the parent 
tree. Wood of the previous season is preferable for grafting and 
should be taken only from the very best and most carefully selected 
parent trees. 

CLEFT GRAFTIXG. 

In its modifications grafting has been longer employed than bud- 
ding. It is performed during the late winter 
months just as the buds begin to swell, or 
very early in the growing period. At that 
time the upward flow of sap is most rapid 
and the union will be accomplished most 
quickly. Scions for any kind of grafting 
should be selected from the growth of the 
last season. Terminal twigs were formerly 

« 

used almost exclusively and are still pre- 
ferred by some propagators. But, as the bud 
at the end of the branch rarely produces a 
strong shoot, ordinarily drying up and fall- 
ing off instead, terminal twigs are no longer 
used to a large extent. 

A well-filed fine-tooth saw, a sharp graft- 
ing knife, a specially devised grafting tool 
(fig. 7), a short-handled wooden mallet (fig. 
8), a quantity of raffia and grafting wax or 
grafting cloth, and a number of scions con- 
stitute the necessary equipment for grafting. 
In performing the operation of cleft grafting, the trunk or limb of 
the tree to be grafted (technically known as the stock) should be cut 
square] v across with the saw; the knife edge of the grafting tool 
should then be placed across the stock, either over the center or to 
251 




Fig. 



8. — Mallet for use 
cleft grafting. 



in 



22 



THE PECAN. 



one side in order to avoid the pith, and by tapping the back of the tool 
with the mallet split or, better, cut the stock to a depth of 2 to 4 




$ J Sd^Mr. 



Pio. 9. Cleft grafting. Successive steps in the operation : a and b, Views of the scion ; 

c, cross section of the scion, thicker on one side ; d, the scion in place and the stock 
securely tied to prevent splitting; e, the union covered with grafting wax; /, outer 
wrapping securely held with string. 

inches. Remove the tool and pry the two parts of the stock apart 
with the thick, narrow wedge projecting from the back of the graft- 

251 



PROPAGATION. 23 

ing tool at the extreme end. Prepare the scion by sharpening its 
lower end with the grafting knife into the form of a wedge (fig. 9, a 
and l>) made thicker on the side which will be outermost when in 
position (fig. 9, c). Insert the wedge end of the scion in the cleft 
of the stock so that the cambium layer (inner bark) of its thick side 
will be in close contact with the inner bark of the stock. The 
scion should be pushed into the cleft until the cut surface of the 
stock is on a level with the base of the first bud. It will do no harm 
if it goes slightly deeper. It is imperative that the two cambium 
layers be brought together as closely as possible. With stocks of suffi- 
cient size a second scion may be similarly placed in the opposite end 
of the cleft. Remove the iron wedge from the middle of the cleft 
and cover the cut surfaces, including the tip of the scions (unless 
terminal shoots have been used), with grafting wax especially pre- 
pared, being careful not to cover the buds. If the stock is weak and 
inclined to further splitting after the wedge has been removed it 
should be tightly wound with several wraps of a stout, rather coarse 
material before the wax is applied. Where a large amount of graft- 
ing is to be done, the best as well as the cheapest material for wrap- 
ping is a product of one of the eastern tropical palms, known as 
raffia, which is obtainable from dealers in nursery supplies. For 
propagation on a small scale, cotton warp, strips of old muslin, or 
similar material will answer fully as well. 

FORMULAS FOR GRAFTING WAX. 

(1) Mix together thoroughly 1 parts* (by weight) rosin, 2 parts 
beeswax, and 1 part tallow. 

(2) A harder wax for use in warm weather is made of the follow- 
ing: Rosin, 4 pounds; beeswax, 1 pound; raw linseed oil, one-half to 
1 pint. 

To prepare either formula melt the ingredients together, pour into 
water, and pull. Rub the hands with oil or grease before using to 
prevent sticking. In using the second formula the proportion of oil 
will depend upon the season, a greater quantity being necessary in 
cooler weather. 

PREPARATION OF GRAFTING CLOTH. 

Thin calico or cheap muslin saturated in melted wax, drained, and 

allowed to cool makes a material which answers both as a wax and 

as a binding substance. Before immersing in the liquid, tear the cloth 

into strips 12 to 18 inches wide or of whatever width may be most 

37184°— Bui. 251—12 4 



24 THE PECAN. 

convenient. "When thoroughly saturated take it from the solution 
and while still warm remove the excess of hot wax. Various methods 
of accomplishing this removal are practiced. On a small scale the 
cloth may be wrung out with the hands, but when larger quantities 
of material are to be made a convenient method much in use is to 
draw the cloth between two flat pieces of wood. A simple method 
is certain to suggest itself to any ingenious operator. 

"When grafting cloth of the proper consistency is used raffia will 
be unnecessary, as the properly prepared material carefully wrapped 
holds itself in place without being tied. 

CARE OF CLEFT GRAFTS. 

Obviously, two scions placed in one cleft double the chance of 
success. With an ordinary wrapping of waxed cloth further atten- 
tion to the graft itself will not be needed. If wound with stout mate- 
rial the bandages should be severed as soon as growth has begun, when 
the weaker of the two scions should be cut awa} r . If both scions are 
allowed to remain, the formation of a fork between the two will be 
inevitable and splitting very apt to follow. A single scion affords 
a much better opportunity for the development of a symmetrical 
head and there is less danger of crowding than when two scions 
are left. 

W r HIP GRAFTING. 

The operation of whip grafting is usually performed during the 
latter part of the dormant season, at any point in the trunk from 
immediately below the surface to several inches underground. For 
this method of propagation the stock and the scion should be of very 
nearly the same size, preferably not more than three-fourths of an 
inch in diameter nor smaller than a lead pencil. With the knife held 
so as to make an upward incision, cut the stock entirely across at a 
long angle, as shown at 1 in figure 10. At about one-third the dis- 
tance from the upper end of the cut make an incision parallel with 
the grain, as shown at 2 (fig. 10) . Cut the scion at as nearly the same 
angle as possible and make a similar incision in the cut surface one- 
third the distance from the upper end of the cut, as shown at 3 
(fig. 10). Push the cut surfaces together in such a way that the 
tongue of the scion made b}^ the incision will be crowded into the 
groove made by the incision in the stock, as shown at 4 (fig. 10). 
Bind the two jDarts together with raffia or other material, as shown 
in figure 11 at a (not as appears at h) , and pack firmly with earth. 
The use of wax is not necessary. 

251 



PROPAGATION. 



25 



CARE OF WHIP GRAFTS. 



When grafted by the whip-graft method the young trees will re- 
quire little subsequent attention other than pruning and ordinary 
cultivation. When the root is that of a very young tree there will 
be no danger of the 
supply of plant food 
being such as to in- 
duce a growth of top 
that is too rapid, as 
is frequently the case 
with cleft grafts, es- 
pecially in the tops 
of old trees. While 
temporary staking 
as a support to the 
union is not neces- 
sary, in numerous 
cases stakes will be 
highly essential to 
insure erect growth. 
The moisture of the 
ground causes the 
wrapping material to 
decay in the course 
of a few weeks, and 
it is therefore not 
necessary to cut the 
bands, as with cleft 
grafts. 

BUDDING BY THE AN- 
NULAR METHOD. 

It is probable that 
more pecan trees 
have been propa- 
gated by annular 
budding, with its 
modifications, than 
by all other asexual 
methods combined. The process is also known as "ring" and 
" flute " budding. It is performed during the midsummer months 
at such time as the bark is found to slip (release) most readily. In 
some seasons this period may be very brief, lasting only a few 

251 




Fig. 10. - — Whip grafting. Early steps in the operation : 
a and b, Front and side views of both stock and scion 
properly cut ; c, stock and scion in position and ready 
for wrapping. 



26 



THE PECAN. 



days, while in other years the time during which annular budding 
may be successfully performed extends over a period of several 
months. Tn the latitude of southern Georgia it is not uncommon for 
this method to be successful from as early as May 10 until late 

in July or even in 
August. 

Annular budding 
consists merely in 
transferring a ring of 
bark to which is at- 
tached a bud of the 
desired variety from 
a bud stick 1 to the 
trunk or branch of 
another tree in place 
of a similar ring of 
bark previously re- 
moved. Specially de- 
signed tools, such as 
are shown in figures 
12, 13, and 14, nave 
been devised for the 
purpose of cutting the 
rings. Two ordinary 
propagating knives 
having single blades 
may be fastened to- 
gether and made to 
answer the purpose, 
although they are less 
liable to make uniform 
incisions. Cut a ring 
of bark from the stock 
with one of the tools, 
slit it with a single- 
bladed knife, and lift 
from its bed or ' ; ma- 
trix,'' as it is techni- 
cally called. Discard 
this bark and from the bud stick remove a similar ring, in the center 
of which is a dormant laid. The bark of the bud stick should be slit 
on the side opposite the laid. Immediately place this ring in the 




Fig. 11. — Whip grafting. Later stops in the operation: 
a, Proper method of tying; &, improper method of ty- 
ing; c one year's growth following a successful union. 



1 The bud stick is a hranch, usually about 2 feet in length, cut from a tree of the 
variety to be propagated. 
251 



PROPAGATION. 



27 



space left by removing the bark from the stock and wrap at once 
with waxed cloth, taking care not to cover the bud (fig. 15). 




Fig. 12. — A metal tool specially designed for use in annular budding. 
BUDDING BY THE PATCH METHOD. 

When the annular method is used it is obvious that the stock and 
scion must be of nearly the same size. If the bud stick is slightly 




ggsggnBSB Bgggggggggnggfflffl gmgffl 



Fig. 13. — A tool with wooden handles and steel blades specially designed for use in 

annular budding. 

larger than the stock a portion of the bark to which the bud is 
attached may be cut away so that the two ends of the ring just meet 
around the stock. 
If the bud stick 
should be smaller 
than the stock a strip 
of bark on the latter 
may be left in posi- 
tion to complete the 
ring. In actual practice, rings which extend only partly around the 
stock are most commonly used. Such process, however, is not true 
annular budding, because any bark which extends only partly around 

251 




p IG . 14. — Another type of metal tool specially designed for 
use in annular budding. 



28 



THE PECAN, 



the stock is merely a patch. It is to this deviation from the annular 
met hod of budding that the term " patch budding " has been applied. 
A tool specially designed for patch budding is illustrated in figure 16. 

It consists of four 
thin steel blades 
fastened together in 
the form of a rec- 
tangle, five-eighths 
of an inch wide by 
1 inch long, and is- 
used as a punch. 

A very fair de- 
gree of success in 
patch budding by 
using an ordinary 
single-bladed bud- 
ding knife is re- 
ported from Texas. 
A cut is made in 
the bark of the bud 
stick about half an 
inch in width by 
three times as long, 
in the center of 
which is the bud. 
The piece of bark 
so outlined is re- 
moved from the 
bud stick and laid 
over that of the 
stock. Using this 

Fig. IT). — Annular budding, a. Bud stick from which the as a pattern, mci- 

the bud has been removed; b, the bud ready for insertion sions are then made 
in the matrix of the stock; c, the stock ready to receive , . . ,, 

the bud ; d, the bud after being placed in position and arOUlia It 111 tlie 

carefully wrapped; e, growth taking place, the wrapping bark of the stock, 

having been removed : f, growth from the bud supported „,. ,, ,-, 

by being tied to the stock {(j) above the union. Note the * ne pattern IS tlH'U 

scars abovr the union, whore the buds were removed in removed, the Section 
order to direct the How of sap to the new bud. „ . , , , . , . 

of bark outlined in 
the stock is lifted, and the bark from the bud stick is put in its place. 
Some varieties of the pecan are more difficult to bud successfully than 
others; with such varieties the annular method, or a near approach 
to it. is generally most successful. 

251 




PROPAGATION. 



29 



With the average sorts, however, the tendency among the more ex- 
perienced nurserymen is much inclined to favor the patch method, 
which may be performed with any of the tools illustrated in figures 
12, 13, 14,' and 1G. 

The buds best suited to annular or patch budding are those in the 
axils of the leaves at the base of the current season's growth. It is 
well worth the time required to clip the leaves away, close to the 
buds, 10 days or 2 weeks before the bud is wanted, for by so doing 
the wound will heal over before the bud is needed; otherwise a 
serious lessening of the vigor of the bud through evaporation may 
take place. 

(ARE OF ANNULAR AND PATCH BUDS. 

In annular budding the added ring of bark sometimes unites with 
the stock promptly, permitting the upward flow of sap to proceed 
without much interference. "When this is the 
case the top should be carefully pruned back to 
such a degree as is necessary to direct sufficient 
sap into the new bud to cause it to swell. This 
pruning should not be done with too great sever- 
ity, as an oversupply of sap is liable to accumu- 
late under the bark of the new bud and cause it 
to decay or, as it is termed, " to drown " the bud. 
If the tree is young and the growth has been 
rapid, precaution should be exercised in cutting 
back the top in order not to expose the tender 
bark to the heat of the sun. A sufficient amount 
of foliage should be left as a protection from 
the hot sun. If the supply of sap be limited, it 
will be well to cut out all buds in the top of the 
stock as shown in figure 15. All dormant buds, 
both above and below the new bud, should be 
rubbed off as soon as thev begin to swell. The 
wrapping about the new bud must be cut as 
soon as growth begins. As the union of a bud 
with a stock made by any method of budding is at first merely 
the uniting together of bark and not of wood, it is necessarily weak 
during the first few months. To avoid danger of breaking out at 
the bud the new tops should be provided with extra support. For 
this purpose side stakes driven into the ground are sometimes used, 
but these are expensive and unnecessary. By leaving a stub of the 
original top 8 or 10 inches long, entirely denuded of foliage (g, fig. 
15), the new top may be quickly tied to it, and when no longer needed 
the dead stub may be cut away close to the union. 

251 




Fig. 10. — A metal tool 
specially designed for 
use in patch budding. 



30 



THE PECAN. 



BUDDING BY THE CHIP METHOD. 

Propagation by chip budding is performed in the early spring or 
late in the dormant period. Because of being done at this season it 
is also known as " dormant " budding. With a sharp knife a down- 
ward cut is made below the bud on the bud stick to a depth of per- 
haps one-eighth of an inch. Raising the knife to a point above the 

bud a long down- 
ward cut is made 
which meets the lower 
end of the first cut 
and the bud is re- 
moved with a chip 
attached, as shown in 
figure 17. A similar 
chip is removed from 
the stock and the de- 
sired bud is put in its 
place. This should 
be carefully wrapped 
with such material as 
will hold the cam- 
bium layers of the 
stock and the bud 
firmly together on at 
least one side. 

Subsequent treat- 
ment similar to that 
already described for 
annular and patch 
budding should be 
given young trees 
propagated in this 
manner. 

Trees of the pecan 
species are difficult to 
propagate asexually ; 
that is, neither buds nor scions " take " with the readiness of ordi- 
nary fruit trees. The inexperienced operator, therefore, must ex- 
pect a very low percentage of living buds as the result of his first 
attempts. Skilled propagators, however, are now so successful that 
under favorable conditions the percentage of failures is no longer a 
matter of consequence. 

No attempt to bud pecans should be made on rainy clays or in early 
mornings following heavy dews. Some nurserymen even go so far 

251 







Fig. 17. — Chip or " dormant " budding, a, The bud stick; 
b, tlie bud ready for insertion ; c, the bud inserted in the 
matrix of the stock ; U, the bud securely tied in place. 



STOCKS FOR GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 31 

as to select their men for budding the pecan, assigning those who 
perspire most freely to other duties. Extremely hot days should be 
avoided, especially if accompanied by drying wind s. Moderately cool, 
cloudy days without wind or rain are the best for pecan budding. 

STOCKS FOR, GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 
LENGTH OF TIME TREES SHOULD REMAIN IN THE NURSERY. 

In the Gulf Coast States seed nuts are ordinarily planted during 
the months of January and February. With' conditions favorable 
for rapid growth, a majority of the young seedlings should be large 
enough to graft in 12 months and should be ready for transplanting 
by the end of the second season. If they are to be budded they 
should reach sufficient size for that operation by the middle of the 
second season or when at the age of 18 months. Another period of 
equal length will be required for the trees to attain the desired size 
for transplanting. It will thus be seen that under exceptionally 
favorable conditions grafted trees will be ready for planting in the 
orchard two years from the time of planting the seed as compared 
with three years for budded trees under ordinary circumstances. In 
actual practice, however, comparatively few trees attain sufficient 
size for grafting until the end of the second season; the greater 
amount of grafting is, therefore, performed on 2-year-old roots. 
In either case the age of the root is the same, whether grafted or 
budded, and when established in the orchard the method by which a 
tree was propagated becomes immaterial. 

TOP-WORKING. 

The importance of changing the tops of pecans and other nut or 
fruit trees by the top-working method can hardly be overestimated. 
Bv this method seedlings and trees of unsatisfactory varieties may be 
quickly transformed into bearing trees of more valuable kinds, new 
varieties may be hastened into bearing, untried sorts may be quickly 
tested in a new locality, several sorts may be tested on the same tree, 
and varieties grafted to uncongenial stocks may be given a new trial 
by being transferred to other trees. Seedling orchards scattered over 
the entire pecan area are already being transformed in this manner. 
Wild trees, both in the forest and in the open, are being similarly 
improved. 

STOCKS FOR TOP- WORKING. 

For the purpose of top-working, trees of both the pecan and the 
hickory species are used. Although belonging to the same botanical 
family as the walnut and the butternut, the pecan is of a different 

251 



32 THE PECAN. 

genus. The relationship is too distant to make the grafting of it 
upon stocks of either worthy of the attempt. The matter of top- 
grafting the hickory is discussed under another heading (p. 33). 

In general, it is possible to transform the tops of pecan trees of 
practically any size or age by top-working; but the advisability of 
attempting so to transform giant trees or such as have begun to 
deteriorate with age is very doubtful. The operation is of chief value 
to healthy trees under 30 years of age. 

HOW TO " TOP- WORK. 

The operation of top-working is begun during the dormant season. 
At that time little danger of killing the trees by severe pruning is 
incurred. "With the exception of a few branches which should be left 
to utilize the excess of sap while the development of the new top is 
in progress, the top should be cut back to the point at which the new 
head is to begin. Commonly the lower three or four limbs are left 
for this purpose. In working over a large number of trees an ele- 
vated platform built at convenient height and attached to a wagon 
for use during the several stages of the operation will be a great con- 
venience. If the limbs to be cut are large, wind a heavy chain about 
the branch immediately below the place of cutting, in order to obviate 
the danger of splitting. A shallow cut on the lower side will further 
tend to reduce this danger. Trunks more than 6 inches in diameter 
heal more slowly than those of smaller size; whenever practicable 
the larger trunks should not be cut. Figure 18 illustrates a tree prop- 
erly cut back and figure 19 shows one which was cut back too severely. 
If desirable, the top may be cleft-grafted as soon as cut back, or new 
growth may be allowed to start, to be budded in midseason by what- 
ever method may be preferred. In small trees three healthy scions or 
buds centrally located will be enough to insure a symmetrically 
formed top. As soon as the new growth reaches sufficient size to 
utilize the entire flow of sap the remaining branches of the original 
top should be removed. Figure 20 shows a 7-year-old tree which was 
cut back 1 in February, 1908, budded August 10 of the same season, 
and the lower branches of which were removed September 1, 1909. 
The four spurs below the branches indicate the points at which the 
branches were cut away. These spurs were later pruned closely 
during the dormant season. 

Figure 21 shows a large tree near Morgan City, La., top-worked 
when about 25 years old and photographed six or seven years later. 
The points at which the operation was performed are indicated by 
the right-angular union more or less distinct in each branch. It is a 
very well-shaped tree. An objection to this method of top- working 

1 Top-worked by Mr. B. W. Stone, Thomasville, Ga. 
251 



STOCKS FOR GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 



33 



lies in the fact that the new head of the tree must be formed con- 
siderably higher than the old and there is danger that it will be 
too high. This is especially true with varieties such as the Stuart, 
Jewett, and others which are inclined to upright growth. If the 
original top is already high, it is generally best to cut back and graft 
the lower branches a year before cutting away the central part of the 
top. Enough of the top may be cut back at the same time to force 
a liberal supply of sap into the graft. The sap can not be directed 
to the lower limbs in -this manner if the higher limbs are grafted 
first,,, for in that case pruning will be fairly certain permanently 
to disturb the symmetry of the new top. 




Pig. 18. — Seedling tree cut back during the dormant season to induce new growth for top 

budding. 

TOP- WORKING HICKORY WITH PECAN. 

Because of their close relationship the scions and buds of the 
pecan readily unite with stocks of the hickories. The advantages 
sought in such operations are the quick introduction of the pecan to 
localities to which it is not common but where hickories abound, the 
utilization of trees of inferior species, and the possibility of dis- 
covering a stock for the pecan which will have certain advantages 
over those ordinarily used. A number of species are known to have 
been tried; in southern Louisiana several trees of the water hickory 
(Hicoria aquatica) in standing water produced a healthy, strong 
pecan top, but later died outright, while others of the same species 

251 



34 



THE PECAN. 



not top-worked remained alive under the same conditions; another 
of these trees taken up and transplanted to drier land made good 
growth and according to latest reports was bearing satisfactorily. 




Fig. 19. Seedling tree cut back to a stump 15 inches in diameter, for top-working. 

With large trees the sprouts on one side only should be budded. As large a portion 
of the stump as possible should be hewn away in order to allow the wound to heal. 

In Florida, where the mockernut (Hicoria alba) is common, the 
pecan has been found to unite readily with it and to make a rapid 
growth until the diameter of the pecan becomes equal to that of the 

25 1 



STOCKS FOR GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 



35 



hickory, after which it grows much more slowly. Other hickories 
have been tried; while the early growth is generally reported to be 




Fio. 20. — A 7-year-old pecan tree top-worked with Stuart scions. The seedling top was 
cut back in February, the buds were inserted August 10. and the lower branches 
removed September 1 of the next year. Note how the head of the tree has been 
elevated. 

strong and rapid, very few have thus far proved satisfactorily 
fruitful. 

251 



36 



THE PECAN. 



As hickory trees top-worked with pecan usually stand in out-of- 
the-way places, not uncommonly in wood lots, it is doubtful whether 




Fig. 21. — Pecan tree in Morgan City, La., top-worked when about 25 years old and pho- 
tographed 6 or 7 years later. A very well-shaped tree, although headed rather high, 

the reason for unfruit fulness is due to the influence of the hickory 
species or to the lack of cultivation. 

25] 



STOCKS FOR GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 



37 



Department investigators have generally observed a conspicuous 
difference in the rapidity of growth between the hickory stock and 
the pecan scion. As a usual thing the pecan is the more rapid grower, 
as is illustrated by figure 22, which undoubtedly affords the earliest 




Fig. 22. — Pecan tree grown from a graft on a hickory stock inserted about 1880. Note 
the enlargement of the trunk 2 feet above the ground, the point at which the union 
was made. 



instance on record of a pecan tree 1 grafted to a hickory stock. The 
operation was performed 1 foot from the ground about the year 1880. 
The tree is now 40 or 50 feet tall and has a spread of about the same 



1 Near Gainesville, Fla. Photographed in October, 1910. 



251 



38 THE PECAN. 

distance. The trunk measured 5 feet 9£ inches in circumference 
below the graft, 6 feet 11 inches at the point of union, and 6 feet at 
breast height. It was, therefore, 1 foot 1^ inches greater in circum- 
ference at the point of union and 2| inches greater 4 feet from the 
ground than the hickory trunk at the place of its greatest cir- 
cumference. 

Nothing is known of the source of the pecan scion, but it is not 
improbable that it was cut from an ordinary seedling. The bearing 
record of this tree is unknown, but as it stands in rather poor soil and 
bore no nuts during the year observed (1910), it has probably never 
fruited to any considerable extent. 

PLANTING. 

Orchard trees are ordinarily transplanted from the nursery to 
their permanent location during January or February. The soil 
should first be put in good condition by thorough cultivation and, if 
necessary, steps should be taken to insure proper drainage. 

The usual distance for planting differs in localities. In the deep 
alluvial lands of Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley, where it is 
expected that the trees will attain greater size than when grown in 
the lighter soils of the more eastern States, pecans are now being set 
at distances varying from 50 to 75 feet. Some planters, having in 
mind the idea that 100 feet will be the most suitable distance wdien 
the trees reach maturity, are planting at 50 feet, with the intention 
of removing the alternate trees as soon as crowding begins, leaving 
them eventually 100 feet each way. 

In Georgia, a distance of 46 feet and 8 inches each way (20 trees 
to the acre) was adopted for some years, but as the orchards so set 
approach maturity it is becoming evident that considerably greater 
space, would have been better. These planters now agree that 60 feet 
apart (12 trees to the acre) is not too great a distance. 



TREES FOR PLANTING. 



As has been explained, nursery-grown trees are mostly planted at 
the age of 3 years. While sometimes sold as though graded accord- 
ing to age, they are actually graded according to size. If sold under 
the age grade the largest trees are naturally the "oldest." For this 
reason it is much more satisfactory to buy according to size, although 
in that case there is danger of slow-growing stock being worked into 
the lot. Within certain limits a nursery-grown pecan tree which has 
reached a given size in a given length of time is much to be preferred 
to one which has been twice as long in attaining the same size. It is 
natural to expect that the rapidity or slowness of growth displayed 
in the nursery will be relatively the same throughout the life of the 

251 



PLANTING. 



39 



tree. For this reason the healthy, quick-growing trees in the nursery 
are much preferable to those which grow slowly. Figure 23 shows 
five trees, selected to show one of each of the grades adopted by nur- 
serymen. Beginning 
at the right the grades 
of 1 to 2 feet, 2 to 3 
feet, 3 to 4 feet, 4 to 
5 feet, and 5 to 7 
feet are represented. 
These measurements 
are of the top only ; 
the length of the tap- 
root is not taken into 
consideration. 

The taproot, which 
it was once thought 
necessary to protect 
in transplanting, is 
now cut off about 2 
feet below the sur- 
face. In a nursery 1 
visited during the fall 
of 1910, a tool spe- 
cially designed for the 
purpose was being 
used in cutting off the 
taproot. 

Purchasers of nurs- 
ery stock should in- 
sist that the trees be 
allowed to remain in 
the nursery in the fall 
until all growth has 
ceased and the foliage 
has fallen normally. 
The early demand for 
trees has recentty im- 
pelled nurserymen to 
dig a great portion of 
their trees while still 
in full leaf. At that 
season neither the top nor the root system is in a condition to be 
disturbed. The cutting away of foliage, branches, and roots while 
the sap is still in circulation results in a heavy shock which is inju- 




Fig. 23. — Nursery-grown pecan trees, showing the stand- 
ard grades. Right to left: 1 to 2 feet, 2 to 3 feet, 
3 to 4 feet, 4 to 5 feet, 5 to 7 feet. The seed from 
which these trees were grown was planted in January, 
the seedlings were whipgrafted during the month of 
February of the second year following, and the trees 
were dug in the succeeding November. The board 
upon which the trees are stauding indicates the point 
at which the taproots were cut. 



1 The Monticello Nurseries, Monticello, Fla. 



251 



40 THE PECAN. 

rious and wholly unnecessary. It is therefore highly important that 
every buyer of southern varieties of pecan trees grown in the South 
should insist that the lives be not dug until the leaves have dropped 
naturally, which is usually about the middle of November. With 
northern varieties the situation may be different, as the wood of 
these varieties matures very much earlier. However, with southern 
varieties grown in the South, it would be better for the trees not 
to be dug from the nursery rows before the last of November in 
any season. 

SETTING THE TREKS. 

Extreme precaution should be taken to prevent the roots from be- 
coming dry. They should be kept carefully covered from the time 
they are dug until finally set. A large hole, fully twice or three 
times the size actually required to receive the roots, should be dug. 
A quantity of well-rotted compost or nitrogenous fertilizer placed in 
the bottom of the hole, entirely covered with earth before setting the 
tree, will furnish plant food during subsequent seasons and tend 
to induce a deep root system. Immediate contact of the roots with 
compost or fertilizer of any kind must be avoided. All broken parts 
of the roots and all lateral branches of nursery-grown trees should be 
pruned away. Soaking the roots in a bucket of water for an hour or 
two or even over night gives the trees a very great advantage. The 
trees should be placed in the hole at about the same depth as they 
grew in the nursery. Spread out the roots carefully with the hands 
and pack firmly with moist surface soil thoroughly pulverized. If 
the soil is dry, it should be drenched with water before the hole is 
entirely filled. 

CULTIVATION. 

Satisfactory tree growth and bearing qualities can be expected only 
in return for careful attention to cultivation and orchard manage- 
ment. In addition to being unsatisfactory in bearing, neglected trees 
are very apt to become far more subject to attacks of fungous dis- 
eases and insect pests. 

A common practice in the Southern States is that of renting the 
land between the rows to tenants, reserving a narrow strip on either 
side of the row to be cultivated and fertilized by the owner. As the 
trees approach the bearing age this strip is widened until all the land 
is included, after which cover crops only are grown between the rows. 
A good many soils in which pecan trees are now being planted are 
of such low fertility that they should be replenished with plant food 
rather than be further impoverished with intercrops. Of the crops 

253 



NUT HANDLING. 41 

being grown between the rows, cotton and corn are the most common, 
although truck crops are not infrequent. Legumes, such as cowpeas. 
velvet beans, 1 lespedeza, and bur clover, are most commonly used for 
soiling purposes. 

BEARING AGE. 

Owing to the infancy of the industry, very little data as to the 
ages at which pecan orchards come into bearing are yet obtainable. 
This lack of information is partly due to the fact already made clear 
that with few exceptions practically all orchards planted prior to 
1003 were of seedling trees and therefore of very uncertain bearing 
habits and partly for the reason that a great majority of the grafted 
and budded trees were of varieties which later proved to be shy 
bearers. Of the trees which have been planted since 1903 a great 
many are bearing to some extent. It is not unusual for trees of- 
some varieties when grown under favorable conditions to mature a 
few nuts by the end of the second or third season after transplanting 
from the nursery to the permanent orchard location. A few nuts, 
however, can not be considered a crop. It is not improbable that 
such early bearing is detrimental to the vitality of the trees. In the 
belief that trees should not be allowed to bear until they have at- 
tained size, root hold, and constitutional vigor proportionate to that 
of maturity, some of the leading orchardists are now managing their 
orchards so as to prevent commercial production of nuts until the 
trees are 8 to 10 years of age. 

NUT HANDLING. 
HARVESTING. 

In the latitude of north Florida the period of ripening and har- 
vesting begins with certain varieties in some years as early as 
September 5 and with others extends until late into December. 

The hulls open partly or entirely and the nuts fall to the ground, 
or they are whipped from the trees with poles of bamboo or other 
light material, after which they are gathered up and taken to shelter. 
No machinery has yet been devised for separating the nuts from the 
hulls; consequently this work is done by hand. In sections where 
the pecan is native, professional thrashers beat the nuts from the 
trees for a stipulated fee or for a portion of the crop, according to 
agreement. 

In order to dry the nuts thoroughly as soon as separated from the 
hulls they are spread to a depth of not more than 3 inches upon 

1 The velvet bean is a remarkably vigorous grower and special precaution should be 
taken to prevent it from running over the young pecan trees, causing them to break down 
with the weight of the vines. 
251 



42 



THE PECAN. 



racks with perforated bottoms, so placed that the air will have free 
circulation above and below. With frequent stirrings the process of 
drying may be hastened so that in favorable weather the nuts may 
be ready for market in from 10 days to 2 weeks. A very appre- 
ciable loss in weight by evaporation will continue for some weeks 
following the ordinary period of drying. 

MARKETING. 

Comparatively few nuts of the improved varieties reach the gen- 
eral markets. They are largely sold to nurserymen for use as sam- 
ples, occasionally to seedsmen, and to tourists, fancy confectioners, 
private consumers, and recently to a rapidly increasing class of in- 




Pig. 24. — Wagons loaded with native pecans in Texas awaiting the arrival of buyers. 

dividuals engaged in promoting land sales of orchard property. 
The nuts are put up in any shape or style of package that may sug- 
gest itself, and shipments are sent by mail or express directly from 
the producer to the consumer. The pound is the unit of measure 
by which such sales are made. No standard package has been 
adopted by the trade and so far as known no grower has his own 
trade-mark, as is the case with leading growers of citrus and other 
fruits. 

When thoroughly dried the wild nuts are placed in burlap sacks 
holding 100 to 150 pounds and hauled to the local markets, where 
they are inspected and bid upon from the wagons drawn up in the 
streets much the same as grain dealers buy wheat in the Northern 
States. Figure 24 shows three wagon loads of pecans in the central 

251 



NUT HANDLING. 



43 



part of a Texas town ' awaiting the arrival of buyers. From the local 
buyers they are sent in car lots to the larger markets, principally in 
San Antonio, New Orleans, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Cincin- 
nati, Buffalo, and New York, whence they are distributed to smaller 
cities. 

CLEANING, POLISHING, AND TINTING. 

As the harvesting season extends over a period of two to three 
months, a large proportion of the nuts become considerably dis- 
colored and their surfaces more or less covered with particles of soil. 
To remedy this condition the nuts are rotated in cylinders of several 
hundred pounds capacity; the rubbing together in the cylinders re- 
moves the dirt and cleans and polishes the surfaces of the nuts, and 
they are then known as " polished " pecans. During the polishing 




Fig. 25. — A pecan crackery. 

process the natural rich appearance of the nuts is lost. Another 
common process by which wild pecans are prepared for market con- 
sists in the immersion of the nuts in a reddish dyeing solution, after 
which they are dried and polished by the method just described. 
The latter operation is known as " tinting " or " staining." Nuts 
thus treated may be readily detected by their bright, unnatural color, 
which is easily removable with a moistened finger. 

CRACKING. 

The invention of machinery for the cracking of pecans without 
breaking the kernels is undoubtedly more largely responsible for 
the marked increase in the demand for pecan products during recent 



251 



1 San Saba, Tex. Photographed Nov. 12, 1010. 



44 THE PECAN. 

years than any other single factor. Some crackeries in the cities of 
San Antonio, St. Louis, Chicago, and New York are supplied with 
machines having a daily capacity of 500 to 800 pounds each. Figure 
25 shows a crackery 1 in San Antonio in which 30 to 40 of these ma- 
chines are installed, having a total maximum capacity of 20.000 
pounds daily. After the nuts are cracked the kernels are separated 
from the shells by hand, generally within the same crackery. Of the 
wild product, approximately GO per cent of the total weight of the 
nut is shell, or about -10 per cent kernel. Of those cracked, depend- 
ing largely upon the character of the nut itself, the perfection of the 
machine, and the skill of the operators, from 75 to 80 per cent by 
weight is separated from the shell in unbroken half kernels. These 
kernels are placed in boxes, barrels, or other packages and sent to the 
retail markets, where the present prevailing price ranges from GO 
to 85 cents a pound. 

SIZING. 

Public fancy is most readily attracted b}^ mere bigness, and, as 
most of the cracking machines do not adapt themselves to varying 
sizes without special adjustment, the need of uniformity in size be- 
comes apparent. To meet this exigency various sizing devices have 
been perfected. The type of device used by at least one of the large 
cracking companies consists of a hollow cylinder 24 feet long and 
2 feet 3 inches in diameter, one end being slightly elevated. This 
cylinder is made up of three sections of equal length composed of 
iron rods placed equal distances apart, the distance varying in each 
section. The pecans arc fed into the upper end of the cylinder, 
which has the smallest spaces between the rods. The cylinder is 
rotated slowly, the smallest nuts falling between the rods, while those 
of the larger sizes are carried forward. In experiments made by 
this Department with pecans of named varieties it has been found 
that a diameter difference of one-sixteenth of an inch is sufficient to 
constitute a difference between sizes. 

VARIETIES. 
ORIGIN OF VARIETIES. 

Single trees possessing such superior merit over those of the gen- 
eral average in the matter of size, quality of nut, thinness of shell, 
productiveness, and other characteristics as to justify their propa- 
gation by grafting or budding have been given individual names 
and established as varieties. Varietal names apply to the original 

1 Photographed Nov. 7, 1010. 
251 



VARIETIES. 45 

tree and to all trees grafted or budded from it. but not to those 
grown from its seed. Ordinarily these original trees are chance 
seedlings; exceedingly few varieties have thus far resulted from 
systematic breeding. Since attention has been called to the value of 
such individual trees, several hundred have been discovered, and more 
than 100 have been propagated as new varieties. Of these new 
varieties, however, comparatively few have proved to be of sufficient 
value to warrant their general sale to the public. The development 
of varieties superior in one or more respects to those already estab- 
lished and of varieties especially adapted to given localities is greatly 
to be commended, but unless a nut is plainly of special merit the 
attempt to add it to the present list of varieties should be discour- 
aged, as mediocre sorts are already very numerous. It takes time 
to prove the value of a good variety in any locality; many good sorts 
are already available from which to select, making it not worth while 
to pay fancy prices for propagating Avood or nursery-grown trees of 
any new sort, no matter how much may be said in its favor. In this 
bulletin the discussion of individual varieties is limited to such sorts 
as are best known or have been thought by some to be more or less 
promising. 

SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

No factor in pecan culture is of greater importance than the selec- 
tion of varieties for planting. Upon it alone may depend the success 
of the orchard. The following general suggestions are intended to 
be of service to the prospective planter. 

(1) Ordinarily, varieties do not readily adapt themselves to soil 
and climatic conditions differing widely from those common to their 
place of origin. 1 Unless varieties have already demonstrated their 
adaptability to the soil and climatic conditions in a given locality 
they should be tested experimentally before being planted commer- 
cially. 

(2) As far as practicable, varieties which have proved to be at 
least fairly resistant to fungous diseases and insect pests should be 
selected. 2 

1 Evidence of this statement lies in the fact that when taken to the more humid climate 
of the Eastern States a number of the leading varieties (including San Saba, Sovereign, 
Kincaid, and Halbert ) which originated in the semiarid portions of Texas have developed 
a marked degree of susceptibility to the fungous disease known as pecan scab. Further- 
more, experience thus far has not been such as to encourage the planting of eastern 
varieties in the semiarid portions of the Southwestern States or southern varieties in the 
Xorth other than to an experimental extent. Northern varieties have not yet been tried 
in the South to any great extent. 

2 It is highly improbable that any variety will ever be discovered which will be alto- 
gether immune under all conditions to fungous diseases or insect pests ; but some vari- 
ties are known to be. less subject to certain diseases than others and considerable evi- 
dence at hand indicates that some are less affected by certain insect pests than others. 

251 



46 THE PECAN. 

(3) The market for which the nuts are intended should be borne 
in mind at the time of selecting varieties for planting. 1 

PAPERSHELL PECANS. 

With reference to the pecan the term " papershell " has been 
extended in its application until it is now practically without signifi- 
cance. Originally applied to those types of pecans having such 
thin shells that one nut could easily be cracked when two were placed 
in the hand and crushed together with both hands, the term during 
recent years has been made to include all cultivated varieties, many 
of which have fully as hard shells as the average wild nuts. Properly 
speaking, the term " papershell v never referred to a particular 
variety ; its correct application has been only with reference to the 
group of varieties having very thin shells. 

DESCRIPTION OE VARIETIES. 

No attempt is made in this publication to discuss the merits of all 
varieties known to the trade ; only such as are well known or at some 
time have been thought to give promise as future varieties are 
included. 

Alley. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Widely disseminated since being introduced in 
1896; size medium; shell thin; kernel plump; flavor good; a medium to 
heavy bearer and symmetrical, vigorous grower, somewhat subject to scab 
under certain conditions. Should be planted conservatively. 
Appomattox. 

Recently introduced from Dinwiddie County, Va. Parent tree not in normal 
condition, owing t<> stable built under tree. Size medium; shell of average 
thickness; flavor said to be good; believed to be promising for northern 
planting. 
Atlanta. 

From southwestern Georgia. Very much subject to scab. 
Aurora. 

From Mobile County, Ala. Not yet propagated to a great extent; size large; 
shell somewhat thick; partitions rather corky; kernel fairly plump; flavor 
good to very good. Probably adapted to markets catering to large nuts. 
Beman. 

From Hancock County, Ga. Propagated to a limited extent only. Size below 
medium ; shell rather hard ; kernel plump, bright colored, rich, and of excel- 
lent flavor. Very productive. Promising for north Georgia and vicinity. 
Beveridge. 

From Orange County, Fla. Large, but too shy in bearing and too much sub- 
ject to scab to be of value. 



1 For tho market in which pecans are sold without being cracked, nuts of large size 
have a distind advantage at the present time; in all probability this preference for size 
will continue. The varieties of medium size have certain cultural advantages over the 
larger types in that they are less often shy or irregular in bearing and are generally 
better fillers. 
251 



VARIETIES. 47 

Bolton. 

From Jefferson County, Fla. Size above medium ; shell moderately thin ; 
kernel not always plump ; flavor fairly good. Bearing record not proved. 
Needs further testing. 
Bradley. 

From Baker County, Fla. Size below medium; shell of average thickness, 
hard ; kernel plump ; flavor very good. Very productive. Especially prom- 
ising for Florida and south Georgia. 
Burkett. 

From Callahan County, Tex. Size large ; shell thin ; kernel plump ; flavor 
excellent. Said to be productive. Should be especially adapted to planting 
in west Texas. 
Centennial. 

From St. James Parish, La. The first variety known to be propagated. 
Widely disseminated but very tardy in bearing. No longer planted to any 
considerable extent. 
Claremont. 

From Concordia Parish, La. Not yet extensively propagated. Size medium ; 
shell somewhat thick ; kernel plump ; quality rich ; flavor excellent ; very 
productive. Considered very promising, especially for planting in northern 
range of the area adapted to southern varieties. 
Colorado. 

From San Saba County, Tex. Little propagated as yet. Size large; shell 
somewhat thick; kernel plump; quality rich; flavor excellent. A seedling 
of San Saba. Pi"obably especially adapted to planting in western Texas. 
Curtis. 

From Alachua County, Fla. Size below medium ; shell thin ; kernel plump ; 
quality rich ; flavor excellent. Very productive. Widely desseminated. 
Popular in Florida. 
Daisy. 

From Comal County, Tex. Widely desseminated though not extensively 
planted. Size medium; shell moderately thin; kernel plump; quality rich; 
flavor very good. Tree vigorous; said to be productive; probably best 
adapted to western Texas. 
Delmas. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Widely disseminated. Size large to very large; 
shell moderately thin; kernel plump; quality good to very good; flavor 
excellent. Tree vigorous; productive. Very much subject to scab under 
certain conditions. 
Dewey. 

From Jefferson County, Fla. Size medium ; shell thin ; kernel plump ; quality 
rich ; flavor excellent. Tree of rather awkward habit and thus far irregu- 
lar in bearing. 
Frotscher. 

From Iberia Parish, La. Widely disseminated. Size large ; shell very thin ; 
kernel moderately plump, often dark colored; quality fair; flavor medium. 
Popular in southwestern Georgia and parts of Louisiana. 
Georgia. 
From Mitchell County, Ga. Size above medium; shell thick, rather hard; 
kernel plump ; quality good ; flavor pleasant. Very prolific but extremely 
subject to scab in most places where tried. Should be avoided for the 
present. 
251 



48 THE PECAN. 

Greenriver. 

From Henderson County, Ky. Propagation recently begun. Size somewhat 
below medium; shell of average thickness; kernel plump; quality rich; 
flavor excellent. A promising variety, especially for northern planting. 
Hadley. 

From McDuffie County, Ga. Propagated to some extent in Grady County. 
One of the very large varieties, not yet well known. 
Halbert. 

From Coleman County, Tex. Widely disseminated, mainly by scions used 
in top-working. Size small; shell very thin; kernel unusually plump; 
quality rich; flavor excellent. Very prolific. Especially adapted to plant- 
ing in western Texas and places of similar climatic conditions. 
Hall. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Not widely disseminated. Size very large; 
shell thin; kernel usually plump, frequently defective; quality dry; flavor 
medium. Very prolific. 
Havens. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Not widely desseminated. Size medium to 
large; shell very thin; kernel plump; quality good; flavor sweet though 
sometimes slightly astringent. One of the most promising new varieties, 
especially for Gulf coast planting. 
Hodge. 

From Clark County, 111. Not propagated to any great extent. Size medium ; 
shell rather thick; kernel somewhat shriveled; quality fair; flavor pleasant. 
Hollis. 

From San Saba County, Tex. Not widely disseminated outside of central 
and western Texas. Trees of this variety were at one time sold to some 
extent under the name Post's Select . Size medium to large; shell thick, 
soft; kernel plump: quality good to very good; flavor sweet. 
Indiana. 

From Knox County, Ind. Not yet widely disseminated. Considered highly 
promising for planting in the northern range. Size medium ; shell of 
average thickness; quality said to be good. 
Jacocks. 

From Orange County, Fla. Size large and shell thin; awkward grower; 
irregular bearer and much subject to pecan scab. 
James. 

From Madison Parish, La. Not widely disseminated. Size medium; shell 
thin ; quality rich ; flavor sweet. Very prolific. Thought to be highly 
promising for the northern portion of the range of southern varieties. 
Jewett. 

From Jackson County, Miss. One of the earliest varieties disseminated. 
Fairly prolific but a very poor filler. Tree trunks of this variety are often 
subject to a peculiar bark disease. No longer planted by those familiar 
with it. 
Just. 

From Tarrant County, Tex. Recently introduced. Size small ; shell very 
thin; kernel slightly shrunken; quality rich; flavor sweet. Said to be 
very prolific. Evidently well worthy of trial in central and western Texas. 
Kennedy. 

From Alachua County, Fla. Not widely disseminated. Size medium to 
large; shell moderately thin; quality very good; flavor sweet. Very pro- 
ductive in some years. Inclined to be irregular. Thought to be especially 
adapted to central and northern Florida. 
251 



VARIETIES. 49 

Kincaid. 

From San Saba County, Tex. Well disseminated in central and western 
Texas. Size large; shell of medium thickness; kernel plump; quality very 
good; flavor sweet. Very prolific. Especially recommended for central 
and western Texas. Very much subject to scab in the Atlantic States. 
Lewis. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Recently introduced. Size large; shell of 
medium thickness ; kernel plump ; quality rich ; flavor pleasing. Said to 
be productive. Believed by introducer to be very promising, especially 
for Gulf coast planting. 
Magnum. 

From Mitchell County, Ga. Very much subject to scab. Little planted at 
present time. 
Major. 

From Henderson County, Ky. Recently introduced. Not yet widely dis- 
seminated. Size slightly below medium : shell thin ; kernel unusually 
plump; quality rich; flavor excellent. Considered especially promising 
for planting in northern range. 
Mantura. 

From Surry County, Va. Size medium to large ; shell thin ; kernel not 
always plump at tip, somewhat shrunken; quality good; flavor good. Said 
to be productive. Believed to be especially promising for planting in the 
northern range. 
Melangon. 

From St. James Parish, La. Size medium to large; shell somewhat thick; 
kernel fairly plump; quality medium. This variety has been considerably 
confused since its introduction. At one time trees of Melangon and Van 
Deman were sold under the common name of Paragon, and it is highly 
probable that the variety disseminated from Ocean Springs, Miss., as 
Capital is true Melangon. The nuts of Capital appear to be identical 
with those of Melangon, and the scions with which Capital was first 
propagated were obtained from a grafted tree of about the same age as 
other grafted trees which are known to have been propagated with scions 
obtained from the same parish. 
Mobile. 

From Mobile County, Ala. Well disseminated, especially in southwestern 
Georgia. Size medium to large; shell moderately thin; kernel usually 
plump, frequently very defective; quality fair; flavor fair. Very pro- 
ductive, but thus far generally objectionable after second or third crop 
because of great percentage of defective kernels. 
Moneymaker. 

From Madison Parish, La. Widely disseminated. Size medium ; kernel 
fairly plump; quality fair; flavor sweet. Very prolific. Especially suited 
to planting in northern range of the area adapted to southern varieties. 
Moore. Synonyms : Long Moore, Moore No. 1, Moore No. 2. 

From Jefferson County, Fla. Size below medium ; shell of average thick- 
ness; quality fair; flavor fair. Unusually productive and one of the 
earliest to mature. Well suited to northern Florida. 
Nelson. 

From Hancock County, Miss. Size very large: she] I thick; kernel generally 
plump, though often very defective; quality medium; flavor good. Tree 
unusually vigorous; very productive. 
251 



50 THE PECAN, 

Owens. 

From Coahoma County, Miss. Just being introduced. Size large; shell 
thin; kernel fairly plump; quality medium; flavor good. Parent tree 
said to be very productive. Evidently promising for planting in the 
northern range of the area adapted to southern varieties. 
Pabst. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Widely disseminated. Size large; shell some- 
what thick; kernel usually plump: quality good; flavor sweet. Generally, 
productive, though by some thought not to be an early bearer. 
Post. Synonym: Post's Select. 

From San Saba County, Tex. Not widely disseminated. Size medium ; shell 
thick; kernel somewhat shrunken; quality good; flavor delicate. Much 
confused with Hollis. 
President. 

From Duval County, Fla. Well disseminated in northern Florida. Size me- 
dium ; shell of medium thickness; kernel plump; quality good; flavor pleas- 
ant. Vigorous and productive. Considered as especially promising for 
central and northern Florida. 
Randall. 

From Alachua County, Fla. Not widely disseminated. Size large; shell 
rather thick; kernel plump; quality rich; flavor sweet. Prolific, though 
irregular in bearing. Evidently well suited to central and northern Florida. 
Reuss. 

From Ascension Parish, La. Not yet disseminated. Size slightly below me- 
dium; shell thin; kernel plump; quality good to very good. Evidently 
promising, especially for northern range of area adapted to southern 
varieties. 
Robinson. 

From Orange County, Fla. Not widely disseminated. Size large; shell rather 
thick; kernel fairly plump; quality good; flavor pleasant. Very productive. 
Evidently promising for planting in the southern limits of the area adapted 
to pecans. 
Robson. 
From Jackson County, Miss. More or less widely disseminated, though not 
well known. Size medium; shell thin; kernel somewhat shrunken; quality 
good; flavor pleasant. From same parentage as Russell, resembling that 
variety in many respects. 
Rome. Synony'ms : Columbian, Twentieth Century. Pride of the Coast, etc. 
From St. James Parish, La. Widely disseminated and very well known. 
Size large to very large; shell thick; kernel usually somewhat shrunken, 
often very defective; quality medium; flavor fair. Very irregular in bear- 
ing habits. No longer recommended for planting. 
Russell. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Widely disseminated. Size medium ; shell very 
thin; kernel somewhat shrunken; quality good; flavor sweet. Prolific; 
said to be sensitive to cold weather. 
San Saba. 

From San Saba County, Tex. Very well known. Size small; shell unusually 
thin; kernel very plump; quality very rich; flavor excellent. Highly pro- 
ductive. Especially adapted to central and western Texas. Not suited to 
eastern planting. 
251 



VARIETIES. 51 

Schley. 

From Jackson County. Miss. One of the best known and most widely dis- 
seminated varieties. Size medium to large, although often variable, even 
on same tree; shell very thin; kernel plump; quality very rich; flavor 
excellent. Moderately productive, but a regular, annual bearer. Although 
sometimes quite subject to scab, it is one of the most popular varieties at 
the present time. 
Seminole. 

From Jefferson County, Fla. Not well known. Size medium ; shell thin ; 
kernel plump; quality rich; flavor sweet. 
Senator. 

From Mitchell County. Ga. Not well known. Small; hard shelled; prolific. 
No longer thought to be promising. 
Sovereign. Synonym : Texas Prolific. 

From San Saba County, Tex. Very well known. Size large; shell of me- 
dium thickness; kernel plump; quality rich; flavor sweet. Unusually pro- 
lific. Especially well adapted to planting in central and western Texas. 
Not adapted to the Eastern States. 
Stuart. 

From Jackson County. Miss. More extensively planted than any other 
variety. Size medium to large; shell of average thickness: kernel plump, 
usually breaks into crumbs while being extracted; quality good; flavor 
sweet. Moderately productive. Has succeeded in nearly all parts of the 
range adapted to southern varieties east of central Texas. 
Success. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Of comparatively recent introduction. Size 
large to very large; shell moderately thin; kernel usually very plump; 
quality rich ; flavor very good. Generally reported to be highly prolific. 
Very promising. 
Superb. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Not yet disseminated to any great extent. 
Size medium to large ; kernel fairly plump, often defective ; quality fair. 
Judging from specimens examined, this is not a promising variety. 
Taylor. 

From Harrison County, Miss. Known for some time, but not widely dis- 
seminated. Size medium to large; kernel plump: quality very good; flavor 
sweet. Evidently well adapted to Gulf-coast planting. 
Teche. 
Thought to be from Iberia Parish, La. Introduced by confusion with Frot- 
scher. Size medium to small; shell of average thickness; kernel fairly 
plump: quality medium to poor; lacking in flavor. Unusually productive 
and generally hardy over the entire range of southern varieties from 
Louisiana eastward. 
Van Deman. 

From St. James Parish, La. One of the most widely disseminated of all 
varieties. Size large to very large; shell of medium thickness; kernel 
plump; quality rich; flavor sweet. Very popular until recently, when it 
developed a susceptibility to scab serious in some sections. In the young 
orchards of the Eastern States this variety has not yet proved to be 
prolific. 
251 



52 THE PECAN. 

Warrick. 

From Warrick County, Ind. Not yet generally disseminated. Size slightly 
below medium; shell moderately thin; kernel plump; quality rich; flavor 
excellent. Parent tree reported to be prolific. Evidently a very promising 
variety for planting in the northern range. 
Waukeenah. Synonyms : Round Moore, Moore No. 1, Moore No. 2. 

From Jefferson County. Fla. Quite generally disseminated in northern 
Florida. Size small ; shell of average thickness; kernel generally shrunken; 
quality below medium: flavor poor. Very prolific. One of the earliest to 
mature. Especially adapted to central and northern Florida. 
Wolford. 

From Collin County, Tex. Not widely disseminated. Size medium or slightly 
below; shell very thin; kernel plump; quality rich; flavor very good. 
Evidently well worthy of planting in central and western Texas. 
Young. 

From St. Martin Parish, La. Widely disseminated, but not extensively 
planted. Size large; shell very thin; kernel somewhat shrunken; quality 
good: flavor sweet. Possibly parent to Russell, which it resembles closely. 
Zink. Synonym : Big Z. 

From Jackson County, Miss. Recently introduced. Much like Frotscher in 
nut characteristics. Size large: kernel often shrunken; quality good. 
Though of attractive appearance, because of its deficiency in plumpness of 
kernel it should be held as a test variety. 
251 



INDEX 



[Synonyms are distinguished from the correct varietal names by the use of italic type.] 

Page. 

Age of pecan trees, relation to bearing of nuts 41 

stocks used in propagating 31 

Alabama, distribution of the pecan 7, 10, 14 

Alley, variety of the pecan 46 

Annular budding. See Budding, annular. 

Appomattox, variety of the pecan 46 

Arkansas, economic importance of the pecan 15 

Atlanta, variety of the pecan 46 

Aurora, variety of the pecan 46 

Bamboo, use of poles in harvesting pecan nuts 41 

Bean, velvet, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Bearing, age of nut production of the pecan 41 

Beeswax. See Wax. 

Beman, variety of the pecan 46 

Beveridge, variety of the pecan 46 

Big Z, variety of the pecan. See Zink. 

Bolton, variety of the pecan 47 

Borers, attacks in trunks and large limbs of the pecan 8 

Botanical classification. See Pecan, botanical classification. 

Bourgeois, Emil, work in grafting the pecan 18 

Bradley, variety of the pecan 47 

Breeding, lack of system in originating varieties of the pecan 45 

Budding, annular, method as applied to the pecan 25-28 

chip, method as applied to the pecan 30 

methods applicable to the pecan 19-21, 25-38, 44-45 

patch, method as applied to the pecan 27-29 

Buds, fruit, attacked by insects affecting the pecan 8 

Bur clover. See Clover, bur. 

Burkett, variety of the pecan 47 

Butternut, relationship to the pecan 9, 31-32 

Calico, use in grafting the pecan 23 

California, introduction of the pecan 7 

Capital, variety of the pecan. See Melancon. 

Carya olivaef ormis, former botanic name of the pecan 9 

Centennial, variety of the pecan 47 

Chip budding. See Budding, chip. 

Claremont, variety of the pecan 47 

Classification. See Pecan, botanical classification. 

Cleaning, application of process to pecan nuts 43 

Cleft grafting. See Grafting, cleft. 

251 53 



54 THE PECAN. 

"Page. 

Climate, relation to culture of the pecan 8-9, 11-1-2, 16, 17, 19, 45 

Clover, bur, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Japan. See Lespedeza. 

Cloth, grafting, use in propagating the pecan 23-24, 27 

Colorado, variety of the pecan 47 

Columbian, variety of the pecan. See Rome. 
Compost. See Fertilizers. 

Corn, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Cotton, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Cowpea, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Cracking, application of process to pecan nuts 43-44 

Crops, truck, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Cultivation, application of methods to the pecan 17, 38, 40-41 

See also Culture. 

Culture, methods applicable to the pecan 16-18 

Curtis, variety of the pecan 47 

Daisy, variety of the pecan 47 

Delaware, introduction of the pecan 7 

Delmas, A. G., propagator of the pecan 18 

variety of the pecan 47 

Dendropogon usneoides. See Moss, Spanish. 

Dewey, variety of the pecan 47 

Disease, affection of tree trunk of the pecan 48 

See also Fungi and Scab. 

Distance, interval between pecan trees in orchard planting 38 

Distribution. See Pecan, distribution. 

Drainage, relation to the growth of the pecan 17, 19, 38 

Drought, erroneous impression respecting pecan trees 8 

Drying, process as applied to pecan nuts 41-42 

Duminie, or Duminie Mire, variety of the pecan. See Van Deman. 

Duty, tariff levy on pecan nuts 15 

Dye, use in tinting pecan nuts 43 

Economic importance. See Imports and Production. 

Environment, relation to growth of the pecan 11 

Exports, statistics relating to pecan culture 15 

Fertilizers, application in culture of the pecan 17, 20, 40 

Flavor, varietal notes on pecan nuts 46-52 

Floral organs. See Pecan, flowering habit. 

Florida, introduction and propagation of the pecan 7, 14, 19, 37 

top-working the mockernut with the pecan 34-35 

Foliage, removal from pecan trees at digging time 39-40 

Forestry, relation of methods to pecan production 13, 16 

Forests, nut-bearing, preservation as related to pecan culture 16-17 

Freezing, effect on pecan trees 8, 9 

Fn >t scher, Richard, propagator of the pecan 18 

variety of the pecan 18, 47 

Fungi, relation to culture of the pecan 8-9, 17, 20, 40, 45 

Georgia, introduction and planting of the pecan 7, 14, 19, 38 

variety of the pecan 47 

251 



INDEX. 55 

Page. 

Germinal ion, conditions favorable to pecan seed 19 

Girdlers, enumerated as pecan pests 8 

Grafting, cleft, method as applied to the pecan 21-24 

methods applicable to the pecan 18-25, 31-38, 44^5 

whip, method as appl ied to the pecan 24, 25 

Greenriver, variety of the pecan 48 

Growth, habit of the pecan. See Pecan, habit of growth. 

Habit of growth. See Pecan, habit of growth. 

Hadley, variety of the pecan 48 

Halbert, variety of the pecan 45, 48 

Hall, variety of the pecan 48 

Handling, methods applicable to the pecan 41-44 

Harvesting, methods applicable to the pecan 41^12 

Havens, variety of the pecan 48 

Hickory, relat ionship to the pecan 9, 31-38 

Hicoria alba, use as stock for top- working with the pecan 34-35 

aquatica, use as slock for top-working with the pecan 33-34 

pecan, botanic name for the pecan 9 

Hodge, variety of the pecan 48 

Hollis, variety of the pecan 48 

Illinois, distribution of the pecan 14, 15 

Imports, economic importance of the pecan 15 

Indiana, distribution of the pecan 14, 15 

variety of the pecan 48 

Insects, relation to culture of the pecan 8-9, 17, 40, 45 

1 ntercrops, use between rows in pecan orchards 40-41 

Introduction to bulletin 7-9 

Iowa, distribution of the pecan 11, 14 

Irrigation, application of methods to the pecan 17 

Jacocks, variel y of the pecan 48 

James, variel y of the pecan 48 

Japan clover. See Lespedeza. 

Jewett , variel y of the pecan 48 

Juglandacese, botanical classification of the pecan 9 

Juglans pecan, former botanic name for the pecan 9 

Just, variety of the pecan 48 

Kansas, distribution of the pecan 11,15 

Kennedy, variety of the pecan 48 

Kentucky, distribution of the pecan 7, 10 11 14 15 

Kernels, preparation of pecan meats for market 11 

Kincaid, variety of the pecan 45 49 

Legumes, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Lespedeza, use as intercrop in pecan orchards 41 

Lewis, variety of the pecan 49 

Linseed oil. See Oil, linseed. 

Longevity. See Vitality. 

Long Moore, variety of the pecan. See Moore. 

L misiana, distribution and propagal ion of the pecan 1 0, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 36, 38 

use of the water hickory for top-working the pecan 33-34 

251 



56 THE PECAN. 

Page. 

Machinery, application to the cracking of pecan nuts 43-44 

Magnum, variety of the pecan 49 

Major, variety of the pecan 49 

Mallet, tool used in grafting the pecan 21 

Mantura, variety of the pecan 49 

Marketing, methods applicable to the pecan 42-43, 46 

Maryland, introduction of the pecan 7 

Melancon, variety of the pecan 49 

Mexico, economic importance of the pecan 9, 15 

Mice, field , relation to planting pecan seed 19 

Michigan, introduction of the pecan 7 

M ississippi, introduction and propagation of the pecan 7, 10, 14, 15, 18 

Missouri, distribution of the pecan 14, 15 

Mobile, variety of the pecan 49 

Mockernut, use as stock for top-working with the pecan 34-35 

Mohr, M. C, on distribution of the pecan in Alabama 10 

Moisture, influence on pecan trees 17, 40 

See also Climate. 

Moneymaker, variety of the pecan 49 

Moore, variety of the pecan 49 

Moore, Nos. 1 and 2, varieties of the pecan. See Moore and Waukeenah. 

Moss, Spanish, relation to growth of the pecan 12 

Muslin, use in grafting the pecan r 23-24 

Natural distribution. See Pecan, natural distribution. 

Nelson, variety of the pecan 49 

New England, introduction of the pecan ' 7 

New Jersey, introduction of the pecan 7 

New York, introduction of the pecan ". . . 7 

North Carolina, introduction of the pecan 14 

Nurseries, relation to planting pecan orchards 7-8, 14-15, 18, 19, 38-40 

Nuts, age of pecan trees at time of bearing 41 

methods of handling pecans 41-44 

See also Seed. 

Ohio, introduction of the pecan 7 

Oil, linseed, use in making grafting wax 23 

Oklahoma, distribution of the pecan 11, 14, 15 

Orchards, history and practice of pecan culture 7-8, 14-18, 20, 31, 38, 40-41, 45 

Owens, variety of the pecan 50 

Pabst, variety of the pecan -. 50 

Papershell, use of term as applied to the pecan 46 

Patch budding. See Budding, patch. 

Pecan, alphabetic list of varieties 46-52 

botanical classification 9, 31-32 

cult ure, obstacles 9 

decrease in number of native trees 13 

distribution 7, 9-11, 13-15 

flowering habit 1 2-13 

habit of growth , 11-12, 18-20, 38-39, 46-52 

See also Pruning. 
productivity as related to size of nuts 46 

251 






INDEX. 57 

Page. 

Pecan, varieties, alphabetic list with descriptions 46-52 

factors of differentiation 44 

named, distribution of plantings 14-15 

origin and selection 44-46 

See also Cultivation, Harvesting, Marketing, Orchards, Planting, Propaga- 
tion, etc. 

Pennsylvania, introduction of the pecan 7 

Planting, history of the pecan 7, 14, 15, 17-1S, 38 

methods applicable to the pecan 7-8, 17-20, 38-41, 46 

See also Budding and Grafting. 

Platform, use in top-working the pecan 32 

Polishing, application of process to pecan nuts 43 

Pollination, relation to culture of the pecan 9 

Post, variety of the pecan 50 

Post's Select. See Post. 

President, variety of the pecan 50 

Prices, quotations relating to pecan nursery trees and nuts 15, 44 

Pride of the Coast, variety of the pecan. See Rome. 

Production, economic importance of the pecan 8, 15, 41 

Productivity, varietal notes relating to the pecan 46-52 

Propagation, methods applicable to the pecan 17-38 

See also Budding, Grafting, etc. 
Pruning, methods applicable to the pecan 16-17, 28, 29, 32-36, 40 

Raffia, use in grafting the pecan 21, 23, 24 

Randall, variety of the pecan 50 

Reuss, variety of the pecan 50 

Robinson, variety of the pecan 50 

Robson, variety of the pecan 50 

Rodents, protection of pecan nuts for planting 19 

Roman, T. J., early work in grafting the pecan 18 

Rome, variety of the pecan 18, 50 

Roots, pecan, relation to water table 20 

developing a proper system 17, 40 

proper pruning in handling pecan trees 39 

Rosin, use in making grafting wax 23 

Round Moore, variety of the pecan. See Waukeenah. 

Russell, variety of the pecan 50 

San Saba, variety of the pecan 45, 50 

Saw, tool used in grafting the pecan 21 

Scab, fungous disease attacking the pecan 8, 45-49, 51 

Schley, variety of the pecan 51 

Seed, selection and treatment of pecan nuts for planting 18-20 

Seedlings, use in planting pecan orchards 7-8, 14-15, 18-21, 31, 45 

Seminole, variety of the pecan 51 

Senator, variety of the pecan 51 

Shells, relation of hardness to market value of pecan nuts 46 

Shuckworms, enumerated as pecan pests 8 

Size, relation to age of pecan trees 38-39 

market value of pecan nuts 46 

Sizing, process as applied to pecan nuts 44 

Soil, conditions requisite for successful pecan culture 17, 19-20, 38, 40, 45 

South Carolina, introduction of the pecan 14 

251 



58 THE PECAN. 

Page. 
Sovereign, variety of the pecan 45, 51 

Spanish moss. See Moss, Spanish. 
Staining. See Tinting. 

Stakes, use in propagating the pecan 20, 29 

Stocks, selection for propagating the pecan 31-38 

Stone, B. W., top-working pecan trees 32 

Stratifying, treatment of pecan nuts for planting 19 

Structure, floral, relation to pollination of the pecan 9, 12-13 

Stuart, variety of the pecan 18, 35, 51 

Success, variety of the pecan 51 

Superb, variety of the pecan 51 

Tallow, use in making grafting wax 23 

Taproot, proper pruning at time of transplanting 39 

Taylor, variety of the pecan 51 

Teche, variety of the pecan 51 

Tennessee, distribution of the pecan 7, 10, 15 

Texas, distribution, propagation, etc., of the pecan 11, 12, 14-18, 42-43, 45 

Texas Prolific, variety of the pecan. See Sovereign. 

Tinting, application of process to pecan nuts 43 

Tools, equipment necessary for grafting and budding the pecan 21, 26, 27 

Top- working, application of method to the pecan 17, 31-36 

Transplanting, pecan, proper time for digging nursery trees 39-40 

See also Planting, Roots, etc. 
Trees, pecan, relation of age to bearing of nuts 41 

See also Budding, Grafting, etc. 
Truck crops. See Crops, truck. 
Twentieth Century, variety of the pecan. See Rome. 

Van Deman, variety of the pecan 12, 13, 18, 51 

Varieties of the pecan, alphabetic list 46-52 

See also names of varieties. 
Velvet bean. See Bean, velvet. 

Virginia, distribution and propagation of the pecan 14, 19 

Vitality, relation to grafting and budding of the pecan 20-21, 41 

Walnut, relationship to the pecan 9, 31-32 

Warrick, variety of the pecan 52 

Washington, introduction of the pecan 7 

Water table. See Wells. 

Waukeenah, variety of the pecan 52 

Wax, use in grafting the pecan 21-24 

Weather, relation to processes of propagating the pecan 30-31 

Webworms, enumerated as pecan pests 8 

Weevils, enumerated as pecan pests 

Wells, relation to pecan culture 17 

Whip grafting. See Grafting, whip. 

Wolford, variety of the pecan 52 

Yield. See Production. 

Young, variety of the pecan - 52 

Zink, variety of the pecan 52 

261 

o 



LB D '12 



ADDITIONAL COPIES of this publication 
A may be procured from the Superintend- 
ent of Documents, Government Printing 
Uiliee, Washington, D. C.,at 10 cents per copy 



& 



'-. .-. ■ ■ ■ ■■- 

' : ■■:" ■:■ 






™SS UIY OF INGRESS 



D0DD^i fl ^ 0l4 



■.-., . 

.:■ 

mm 

Mil 

m 



i 



iV.W 




